


Red Velvet, Vanilla, Chocolate In My Life

by Suzaru



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Enemies to Lovers, M/M, actually they are both just assholes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-18
Updated: 2016-10-30
Packaged: 2018-08-23 06:49:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8318008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suzaru/pseuds/Suzaru
Summary: Kylo works at a cafe and regular customer Phasma decided to bring her coworker, Hux along with her.





	1. Red Velvet

**Author's Note:**

> My first Kylux fanfic.  
> Inspired by the song Cake by the ocean from DNCE.

It wasn’t exactly what he had wanted to become, but it was far better than where he came from. Or so Kylo Ren told himself as he stood behind the counter of a small cafe called ‘cafe noir’ that was located at the edge of the city center. Throughout the day they served beverages, mostly different coffee types, with baked goods. In the evening and night however, it switched to alcohol and snacks. During those times they got to play live music, which was exactly the reason why he worked here. All employees here were aspiring artist with a fair share of talent and had to take a stage name that ended with ‘Ren’.  

Snoke, a grumpy old man with a nose for talent and business, sought them out when they were in need of money and an opportunity to be scouted. This job gave them both. Kylo seemed to be particularly liked by him that he even had went as far as offering a small apartment to him at a discount. It really wasn’t much more than sixteen efficiently filled square meter, but honestly, everything was better than being back home with his parents. Where his mom would just be asking him all the time why he didn’t want to work in Uncle Luke’s biological and vegan restaurant ‘Jedi’. 

So Snoke’s offer had been a blessing, even if it included that he had to work more hours than normally acceptable. Sadly enough this also meant he was faced with more moronic customers and there was only so much of stupidity he could handle. This was such a moment, as a girl with long black, definitely dyed hair and too much mascara asked him a question. 

“Do you guys use biological and slavery free produced coffee beans here?” Kylo’s hand twitched and he glared in anger down at the customer, whose mascara was probably totally animal tested and produced by children in China. And he was fairly tempted to yell that to her face or connect a fist to that head, only he hadn’t figured out yet which of the two it was going to be. 

Luckily his coworker, Syra Ren had noticed his behavior and with a hand on his arm and a subtle yet strong push in the back she moved Kylo to the side. 

“Let me answer that for you, miss.” She spoke confident yet still polite enough. Kylo let himself be moved by her and watched her handle the customer, internally still in a fight with himself and his emotions. 

Syra Ren was maybe two good heads shorter than him, but she still was equally intimidating and strong as well, which also showed in her singing abilities. Yet the friendliness she could master equally well was the most impressive thing according to Kylo, who himself only was rough, dark and forceful.

Once Syra was finished with the customer Kylo surged into himself a bit, as with the disappearance of the source of idiocy also most of his energy died out. He muttered a ‘thanks’ to her and earned a nod and something like a smile in return. 

“She was being unnecessary difficult. Just saying no will be good enough.” She sighed, giving him a strong pat on the back, urging him silently to take back his place behind the counter. He retook his place and tried to surge away the remaining frustration, by bending disposable spoons, while waiting for the next customer to come in.

 

At the sound of the door opening he looked up to be met with a familiar face. A tall woman with short platinum blond hair, Kylo knew as Phasma, walked in while obviously being in a serious discussion with the man that followed her inside. What stood out was that they were both dressed in suits and neatly polished shoes, all with the right accessories without coming off as pompous, just immaculate and minimalistic. It was the first time Kylo had seen Phasma wearing such formal clothes, even though she was a regular here. 

He supposed there was a good reason why she was wearing such dark, stiff and formal clothing. The only logical one he could come up with was that she recently had a funeral. When the two reached the counter, Kylo decided to be sympathetic for a change. 

“I’m sorry for your loss.” He said as genuinely as possible, looking over them to get a clue of the mood they were in. Phasma just stared at Kylo in response, blinking as if she was still processing what had been said. Which felt kind of rude to Kylo, as being sympathetic and sincere was something he wasn’t capable of and he just did the most impossible thing. The man accompanying Phasma, who he now noticed was really a natural ginger, if the color of his eyebrows and roots were anything to go by, raised an eyebrow and pretty quickly found his words. 

“Excuse me.” He spat out as if Kylo had just said the vilest thing he’d ever heard.

Kylo himself was also getting confused and frustrated as this was definitely not how he had imagined it to go, but there was no backing down now. 

“Well, you are wearing suits and- ” He started, only to be interrupted by the ginger companion of Phasma. 

“Just because we are decently clothed for formal occasions, you are assuming someone died? How naïve are you?” He commented bluntly, not even raising his voice, as the tone was with enough spite on its own, getting on each and every nerve of Kylo. Without even thinking Kylo slammed a fist onto the counter, making a customer in the corner of the café visibly jump up, even though the man in front of him didn’t even do as much as flinch. 

“Shut up, I’m trying to be nice. No need to be a fucking asshole about it. Phasma never wears suits or looks so soul sucking serious.” Kylo yelled back, not even bothering or thinking about the others around. Angrily he glared at the man, who equally displeased glared back, not wanting to give in to the other. 

This held on for a moment, until both of their focus was broken by a loud laugh from Phasma. Both ended the match to look over to the platinum blond lady, hoping to find a reason for her poorly timed laughing. She was leaning onto the counter and wiping a tear out of the corner of her eye, while her laugh slowly came to a halt. 

If Phasma wasn’t a regular and mostly wasn’t a sort of good acquaintance of him (he didn’t have friends), he would have hit her already. 

“Thanks Kylo, that’s considerate of you, though nobody died, yet at least.” She started and gave a smile to him. “This is what I wear for work. Normally I only come here on my free days or free afternoons.” 

A soft ‘ah’ left Kylo’s throat, not being able to verbalize the rest of his frustration. He wanted to yell in her face about it honestly, tell her that she could have told him and that laughing was absolutely an asshole move. Not to mention that he still wished to hit that arrogant face of the redhead that seemingly just accepted Phasma her apology, aside from a very over dramatic roll of his eyes that was just infuriating. The guy was an asshole and he couldn’t understand why Phasma would bother bringing such a person to a place like this. 

Suddenly a ‘snap’ was heard and it took a second to realize that he just had broken the plastic spoon he had been holding in his hand. However his hold didn’t waver and the spoon just cracked and ben t further. 

 

Syra gave Kylo a soft push as she passed him, to hint him that he had other things to do than intensely glaring at the two customers in front of him. 

“So, what do you want to drink? Or did you just come here to make a fool out of me?” He growled, though neither of the two in front of him looked impressed. 

“I doubt you need us for that.” The ginger retorted ice cold and that was the limit of what Kylo could handle. With one of his large hands he grabbed the tie and yanked the man forward, half over the counter. If he was surprised by the move, he didn’t seem to show it, making Kylo literally growl in anger. 

“How about you shut that arrogant mouth, or I’ll make you.” He hissed out, accidentally spitting lightly in the other’s face as he spoke. The ginger flinched pure out reflex at that, but it was very much satisfying to see in Kylo’s opinion. A smug smirk came on his face and apparently that was Phasma’s cue to jump in the middle of it. 

“Okay, okay, Hux, stop being an asshole, I know you are under a lot of stress and in dire need of coffee, but pissing off Kylo is a stupid idea, even for you.” She commented and sighed dramatically. Hux made a sour expression and averted his gaze from Kylo, his pride obviously hurt at the comment. It was more than pleasing to see the other man’s ego deflate and with a slight push, Kylo let go of the other. 

While the ginger, apparently called Hux, fixed his tie, an awkward silence hung between the three as they were the only ones left in the café. Syra Ren apparently had enough of the mess and had walked off to the back to smoke and the customer had slipped out of the room without being noticed. 

“So what’s it going to be?” Kylo grumbled as he crossed his arms. He was certain he was going to plant his fist in the face of that arrogant asshole sometime today, just not right now. 

A smile formed on Phasma’s face and she eagerly eyed the counter with baked goods.

“A large coffee for both of us and one of those red velvet cupcakes, please.” 

 

The rest of the upcoming minutes went relatively normal for a change, Phasma paid for both of them and they took a seat at a small table near the window. Kylo made two cups of coffee in silence, still seething and not prone on letting Hux’s behavior be forgotten. No one made such comments about Kylo without obvious consequences. There was a reason everyone in his high school and college had learned not to mess with him. And even now people knew better than that, he was taller and broader than most and never really the most kind - looking around. Only Phasma and the other Rens were so used to his presentence that they weren’t intimidated. Aside from this arrogant jerk that was.

Angrily Kylo stomped over to the two with the coffee and the cupcake. With more aggression than necessary he placed the items on the table, almost spilling the coffee but Kylo couldn’t bring himself to care. Especially because the two were in a serious discussion again. 

“-And as if my work load wasn’t enough, I now have to find a replacement for FN-2187. He was producing such a steady going prototype, I can’t believe he quit just like that.” Phasma said, shaking her head. 

“Can’t that nines guy take it over? I heard his prototype fluked at the last moment, massive bug in the design and he would have to start all over.” 

“What, Nines? That guy is hardly standing due to stress. He will drop dead if he continues like that.” “Tsk, weak.” Muttered Hux in response and took the cup of coffee that was standing in front of him. Phasma gave a quick thanks to Kylo, before also taking a good sip of the steaming coffee in front of her. 

 

The fact that Hux hardly even acknowledged Kylo’s presence at the table was making him grit his teeth and he bit his tongue as he stomped to the back to go for a smoke. He hardly ever did such a thing, but at this moment it was that or beating up a certain ginger. 

Once outside, Kylo took the pack out of his back pocket, took one cigarette out and lit it. He closed his eyes and took a deep drag, feeling the smoke fill his lungs and opened his eyes again to watch it swirl in the wind as he breathed out. Both the nicotine and watching the smoke move in the air was calming him slowly. 

Once the cigarette was finished he had sufficiently calmed down to get back to work. Surely he could survive another few minutes of the asshole ginger, though he silently hoped the man had left. This wasn’t his first time dealing with arrogant, ignorant or just plainly annoying customers and he wouldn’t want to get on Snoke ’ s bad side just because he was causing trouble. He needed this job and if that meant putting up with a prick like that, he would. 

 

Determined he walked back into the café. To his disappointment Phasma and Hux were still there as they apparently had bought both a second cup of coffee. As Syra was manning the counter and helping a customer, he sought distraction in cleaning some of the tables. 

To his surprise the two were actually silently sipping their probably still too hot coffee and weren’t in one of their serious and fierce discussions that still sounded like people died. This made him almost able to forget how annoying Hux was, with his too stiff posture and clipped speech. He was brooding silently with a scowl on his face and cleaning some tables, putting empty cups and such on the tray. 

He hadn’t paid attention to the sound of a phone vibrating or Hux saying something to Phasma. He had just picked up the metal tray and turned around to bring it to the back. As always, Kylo only ever walked with full force, his arching frustration having to come out in a way. 

Before he even could see where he was going, he collided with the ginger. The metal tray ending with full force in Hux his face, shoulder hitting Kylo’s chest, who stopped at the sudden resistance. Hux stumbled a few steps back, phone still vibrating in his hand and blinking confused a few times before the face turned in one of annoyance. Blood started to drip out of his nose and a groan left the man’s lips before as he carefully touched his nose. 

“God damn, watch where you are going.” The glare the redhead gave was less impressive while being hunched over slightly and with his nose bleeding. 

Kylo couldn’t help but stare confused at the man before him, his brain not yet caught up to what happened or how it had happened. How had he managed to miss that the man had been practically behind him? He practically always could tell exactly where anyone was within a close range of him. Hear them walk, feel them move, he just always knew. Except this time. 

 

When he had finally wrapped his head around it, Phasma had lead Hux back to his chair and Hux was pushing a napkin from the table to his face. In a hurry Kylo picked up a stack of napkins and put them on the table near Hux, as the one to his face was already quite drenched with blood. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t do that on purpose.” He muttered, hating to admit he made a mistake, but honestly, there was no way around it. Accidentally hurting the man was in no way satisfying and definitely on the list of mistakes that could get him fired. Yes, that was exactly the reason why he was apologizing, to not get his ass fired.

“How nice to know you didn’t intend to hit me in the face with a metal tray.” The sarcastic remark came as he took a napkin from the stack that had been given to him to replace the soaked one against his face. 

“No need to be a jerk about it, I already said sorry. I promise you’ll get a coupon to make up for this accident. I hope it’s nothing too serious.” Kylo rambled on, not sure what to do with the man calmly waiting for the bleeding to stop. 

“It doesn’t look broken, so I’m sure he’ll live. Not to mention it’s far from the first time Hux got his face hit.” Phasma spoke, equally calm about the situation and sending some messages on her phone, probably to their company. 

“What do you mean?” Kylo had said it before he could even think about it, but neither looked really bothered by the question. And it wasn’t as if Hux could look more irritated than he already was. 

“Well, you surely aren’t the first one that wanted to punch that pretty face of him. Though the first to actually manage to catch him off guard.” If the amused grin of Phasma was anything to go by, she probably had been at quite some of the encounters she referred to. 

 

It didn’t take long for the bleeding to stop and only a red and slightly swollen nose was left as proof of the accident. The redness was a stark contrast to the pale skin and impossible to hide. It would get even worse later on when the bruise would change to a darker color. As much as the ginger was an arrogant prick, he was not the type to angrily yell at them that he would press charges over this incident. Instead he reluctantly accepted the coupon, like he was doubting if he would be coming back and took the takeaway cup of coffee to replace the one he had bought earlier and was now lukewarm and still mostly full. With that the two had left, Phasma giving a smile and a wave, calling over her shoulder that she would be back next week. 

When they were out of sight, Kylo went back to business and cleared the pile of bloody napkins of the table, ignoring the intense stare he could feel on his back. However she wasn’t having it and just spoke, as the place was currently free of customers. 

“You’re an idiot, you know that right?”   



	2. Vanilla

To Kylo’s honest surprise, Hux actually had come back a week later. And again the man was in full suit and looked everything but imperfect. He had used the earlier received voucher to get himself a large cup of strong coffee to go. Neither of them had said anything other than the necessary, but if the cold glare of the ginger was anything to go by, the man hated him furiously. Kylo supposed it was because he had accidentally hit his face with a metal tray, but it had been a damn accident and it wasn’t fair to stay angry about such a thing. Besides, most of the bruise was already gone when he saw him again. Kylo had felt bitter and angry by the whole encounter with Hux and after the man had left again, he had stormed off to the back to smoke.

 

Again Kylo had thought he had seen last of Hux and had been proven wrong. Two days later the man came back and twice again the week after. It was Friday afternoon when Hux came by for the second time that week and Kylo couldn’t hold his pending up annoyance.

Hux came in, looking as displeased as always, like the place had personally offended him. He made his way over to the counter and sneered slightly as his gaze went over Kylo.

“What are you doing here?” Kylo blurted out the moment Hux reached the counter.

Hux looked up to the other’s face, a brief second of confusion flickering in his eyes before it fell back into one of distaste.

“I’m here to get coffee, obviously. Last time I checked that was still being sold here.” The snappy remarks of Hux were still as infuriating as Kylo remembered them. He tried not to punch the man in the face at it, barely restraining and clamping a fist down onto the counter.

“You obviously hate this place and me.”

“I’m willing to put up with incompetent beings if it’s for proper coffee.”

Kylo huffed, it was almost impressive the man managed to both compliment and insult him in one breath. He couldn’t even find himself to get angry about it, which was an odd sensation on itself.

“Fine, so what will it be?”

“A large espresso, to go, I’m fairly busy.”

Kylo nodded and got to work, wondering if Phasma also was busy, as she hadn’t been here the past week. When she came by again, he could also ask her about Hux, obviously she had to know more as to why Hux came by while hating the place. Just because they had good coffee hardly sounded like a good reason. Unless he doubted the determination of a caffeine addict.

 

While he finished the espresso and pushed the lid onto the cup, he heard the door open. Strong footsteps made their way to the counter and when Kylo turned, he was greeted with the sight of a smiling but very tired Phasma. Loose fitting black pants hung barely on her hips and a more comfortable than fashionable red hoodie was worn with it, fitting in color with the run down sneakers as if still attempting to make things match. The bags under her eyes were prominent on her pale skin and the look in her eyes were a bit glossy.

“Oh Hux, how unexpected to see you here.” Kylo couldn’t grasp how Phasma still sounded so enthusiastic, while looking like she hadn’t slept in days. Even more intriguing was the slight color that came to Hux face at the comment as he watched his colleague with a face of betrayal.

“You knew I would be here, didn’t you?”

“It was an educated guess, I knew you had a meeting on the other side of the city and a time gap after it before you have to be back at The First Order for system checkups. Not to mention I’ve seen cups from here in your trash bin.”

“I’m sure you have better things to do than analyzing my habits.” Hux commented dryly and took the cup from the counter and leaving the right amount of cash on it.

“Currently not, it’s my day off and I’m going to enjoy it to the fullest.” Phasma managed a teasing smirk as Hux passed her.

“Be wise and take your rest Phasma, I also know you haven’t slept for more than 10 hours total the past three days.” He called over his shoulder, before exiting the place.

The moment the door closed behind Hux, a deep sigh left Phasma and she leaned down onto the counter, now very much showing how tired she actually was. Kylo gave her a worried look, trying to think of something to say to comfort her.

“Should I make you the usual, Phas?” he asked at lack of anything else to say. Phasma gave a weak smile and shook her head.

“Thank you but no, coffee is a bad call, Hux is right, I should be in bed, sleeping. I’ll go for a warm chocolate milk and whatever is the baked good of the day.” She paid and took place at one of the tables to patiently await her order. Slowly blinking once in awhile in her attempt to not sleep in while being in a comfortable chair. She was starting to lose the fight, until Kylo suddenly was standing next to her.

“A warm chocolate milk and a slice of vanilla cake with sugar glaze, there you go.” Kylo put both orders on the table, sat down opposite of her and gave her a smile. He certainly wasn’t good at talking, but he knew when Phasma needed someone to listen and this was such a moment.

“Ever since that guy, FN-2-… Finn left, I’ve been loaded with work, doing both his job, my own and trying to find a replacement for him. Lots of things aren’t going smooth, as to be expected of prototypes. Normally it wouldn’t be a problem and people could jump in, but with the deadline of the Starkiller project getting close, many are already working overtime. It’s better if Hux doesn’t know how much it’s taking of me, otherwise he will try to take part of the load. He’s the manager of the Starkiller project and working about as many hours as I do currently. He will kill himself if he tries to do more. I’ve got to just endure it until we’ve finished the new version of Trooper.”

After the whole monologue she let out a deep sigh and let a silence fall, focusing her attention on the warm mug in front of her.

“Thanks for listening Kylo, you’re a great friend, if that is what we are.” Apparently he wasn’t the only one with a lack of name for their mostly pleasant mutual communications on regular basis. Kylo just nodded again, content with whatever Phasma found necessary to share and it was good to see her relax a bit more while she sipped her chocolate milk like an 8 years old, cradling the mug with both hands.

He gave her a few pats on the back as he stood up to go back to the counter. A group of four teenage girls had just walked in, obviously determined to spend their pocket money entirely in one day and this was part of that mission. He gave a bit too broad smile as he greeted them, more than willing to help them with their mission.

The next weeks passed by without either Phasma or Hux showing up. First Kylo supposed he just had happened to miss them and that they had happened to come by while he wasn’t on shift. After more than a week he got curious and asked the other Rens, but neither of them had seen the two. He kept asking regularly though the next weeks, hoping strangely they might have come by.

He supposed they couldn't come because they were both loaded with work, if Phasma’s words were anything to go by. He wouldn’t dare to admit it out loud, but he sort of missed them, _both_ of them. As frustrating as the permanent scowling ginger could be, it was a welcome exchange between all the idiotic customers. He really had to admit that Hux had a point about the customers of this place.

It didn’t help that the weather started getting worse. The more chilly temperatures and almost continuous rain meant more customers that stayed longer, to leech off the heat of a warm place as long as they could. This meant more noise, more accidents happening to create a bigger mess and more people to potentially want to hit in the face because of their actions. Sadly enough the last one wasn't allowed, so every bit of break he could get, he at least took a quick smoke. Telling himself every time that it was only because this time he really needed. It was already a miracle he had only yelled at one customer past weeks and had spent the rest of the frustration on very aggressively making and kneading dough for the baked goods. The other Ren´s seemed fine with it and let Kylo do the tasks, as all knew that once Kylo was a ball of pent up energy, it had to go out in one way or another, and neither of them were waiting to take a chance to become a target of that.

It was Saturday evening and one of the ´Nights of Ren´, where each Ren had a chance in the evening to perform. It was, as usual on those evenings, lively and quite crowded, everyone eager to enjoy the evening with a good drink and free music. It was somewhat past eleven and Kylo had just finished his own performance, walking back from the small stage to the bar to take over the shift there. He was all sweaty and warm, his shirt half soaked by sweat and strands of hair sticking to his face.

When he got close to the bar, he suddenly noticed a very familiar shade of red hair. Whatever thought he had, was suddenly entirely forgotten and with a clear goal he walked over to the vibrant hair color. Since it was busy, he decided it was easier to approach him from behind the bar, and made his way through the crowd to get behind it, nodding absent minded to Mendos Ren who was also working his shift there. When he was finally in front of Hux he was at loss of words, Hux looked dreadful.

There were fairly fresh cuts all over his face, most were small, but a few were bigger and had stitches. A bruise was starting to form on his left cheekbone and the dark around his eyes indicated a lot of days with hardly any sleep. Hux was glassy staring at the drink in front of him and hadn’t even noticed Kylo observing him for a good half minute.

Kylo let out an awkward cough and put a hand on the table next to his. This seemed to get some wheels turning and after a few times blinking, Hux looked up and made eye contact with Kylo.

“Oh, you.” He retorted, his sullen expression not changing one bit. Apparently Hux couldn’t even manage the energy to show his distaste about the other.

“Yes, me. So, what brings you here?” Kylo tried to start as neutral as possible, not wanting to address the obvious, not yet at least. He had to admit, he pitied Hux. Whatever had happened, the man was totally out of it.

 

“What do you care?” The sudden look of distaste and arrogance came back on his face, however still not as strong as it had been. Internally Kylo immediately scrapped the idea of actually being kind and sympathetic to the guy. If the ginger was going to be a jerk, he was going to be it as well.

“I doubt the doctor said you should go to a bar after he’d patched you up. And I’m not waiting to have you knocking out here. So I could just send you home, if that is what you rather have.”

A groan escaped Hux and Kylo looked pleased with himself as he had undeniable won the battle.

“Fine…” Hux muttered, taking the last bit of his whiskey in one go before he continued. “The big project, prototype Starkiller I’d been working on, the deadline was close, everything was running well. Only the last things had to be fixed. Tomorrow would have been the presentation, but, when I was tuning up the last bits. It… as you can see… exploded in my face, of sorts. Just minor injury to me, but the equipment there took major damage. I can forget that promotion and maybe even my entire job. So yes, I’m fricking here.”

Kylo nodded in acceptance of the reason and assumed Hux already had a nice amount of alcohol in him, to get him to talk like that. It was an almost comically stereotypical reason that got him drinking, but compared to the other poor sods that drank because of difficulty at work, he couldn’t find himself amused by it for a change. Instead he gave Hux a refill with a mumble of “On the house.” before going to serve the other customers at the bar.

While working he noticed that every once a while his eyes wandered back to the vibrant orange and pale green eyes that weren’t as harsh and cold as he remembered them. It was an intriguing sight that had himself pulling towards it. To his luck Hux didn’t seem to notice or didn’t care. Either way was fine by Kylo, it gave him some time to observe without confrontation. Something the other obviously was very fond of doing, attacking whenever he could. It wasn’t that Kylo himself was any better, he said about anything that came to mind and he was far from a kind person at heart.

Somewhere between serving two customers Kylo slipped a glass of water next to the almost empty whiskey glass Hux had been nursing. Hux just looked up at him, but neither said a word as Kylo went back to the other side of the bar. Not much time later he noticed the glass of water was empty and he refilled it, again without a word from either man. The third time he refilled it he thought he saw a soft smile creeping on Hux his lips, but he couldn’t be sure later on when he thought about it.

It was well past two when he saw Hux holding up some bills and Kylo quickly made his way over to him before another Ren could.

“You’re going to leave?” Kylo commented without much thought, mentally hitting himself for the sheer stupidity of it, as it was more than obvious. However Hux didn’t seem to pull a displeased or disgusted face at it, probably because of the amount of alcohol in the man’s system.

“Yes, I’ve done enough wallowing in self-pity for now, it’s about time I get up and moving again.” Hux commented dryly and handed Kylo the bills, getting ready to leave. Kylo quickly counted the bills and noticed a fair tip was with it.

“You know, you are welcome to come back again, even if you don’t want to wallow in self-pity.” This time a clear smirk formed on Hux his face.

“If I come here more often I might accidentally end up liking this place.” With that Hux turned around and left the place, Kylo couldn’t help but watch the red until it was out of sight before he continued his duties.

 

The next time Hux came into the shop, during an afternoon, Kylo had been almost happy to see him and simply ignored the look of distaste the man naturally pulled. Most of the injury seemed fine again, only leaving the bigger cuts still visible. In combination with the suit, neatly slicked back hair and icy glare, he looked like a man that led a mob. He supposed he wasn’t the only one thinking that, as the whole café went silent the moment he stepped in, throwing careful glances at him. Hux simply ignored it all and walked over to the counter to order.

“The usual?” Kylo asked, already grabbing a cup to make a start. With the break of silence, some sort of relief went through the room and softly everyone started doing their own thing again.

“Yes, but I’ll drink it here.”

“Not busy anymore at work?”

“They strictly advised me to take a week off.”

“And you wear _that_ on your day off?” Kylo made an unbelieved gesture to Hux clothing, which were still top notch, ironed into perfection and the kind Kylo only owned one off, which hang in the back of his closet getting dusty.

Hux looked mildly offended at the comment and rolled his eyes.

“I solely have suits and aside from that only some very old loose shirts. But don’t ever think I’ll be going outside wearing that.” The distaste in Hux his voice was clear, yet Kylo idly wondered what Hux would look like, dressed down to a loose shirt and simple jogging pants. It almost seemed a very unrealistic idea, as if the other only existed inside a suit. But he’d seen there was more than ‘asshole and snarky’ Hux, so he was convinced there also had to be more than just what he saw here.

He wanted to see it, he wanted to find out what Hux looked like dressed in a simple shirt, maybe even with his hair in a mess. He was sure anyone’s hair was a mess when they just woke up, surely Hux wouldn’t be an exception on that. He tried to imagine Hux wake up, with messy hair, not yet awake enough to have that cold glare and vile comments, instead his mind still too hazy to work its normal speed and eye squinting to block out the already too bright sun.

When the entire idea of what he was thinking of hit him, a blush crept up on him and he lost his grip on the coffee cup he was holding. With a loud sound it clattered on the ground, breaking into pieces and splatting coffee all behind the counter. Kylo cursed loudly, before getting himself back together and noticing that everyone was staring at him. ‘Great going’ He thought to himself sarcastically and he clenched his fists, trying to contain all his emotions. It had been going fairly smooth for a change, the whole day even, until now. Until he messed it up.


	3. Chocolate

“I’ll make sure you get a new cup of coffee, it’s for free. Just take a seat, it will be there in a minute.” Kylo managed to get out stiffly, before walking off to get the cleaning supplies. Farfas Ren, a lanky guy with short blond hair and a lot of tattoos came over from the back to help with the cleaning.

Together they finished cleaning fairly quickly and still somewhat embarrassed, Kylo remade Hux his coffee. Not much later he put the cup in front of Hux and without a word he turned back quickly to go for a smoke.

“Thank you Kylo.” He heard behind him, and he wasn’t sure if it was an honest comment or a snappy way to comment on his lack of manners. Kylo stopped walking and gave a glance behind him, to see Hux already calmly focused on his coffee, adding a substantial amount of sugar to the cup. Something Kylo hadn’t noticed before.  He had sort of expected Hux took his coffee as bitter as the man himself was.

He took the time to smoke to catch a hold of his thoughts and make a decision, or at least clear some stuff up. The nicotine calmed his brain and he found himself stuck on what he had thought of before: seeing Hux waking up in the morning. And damn him if that wasn’t a nice idea. Not just nice, more like fucking hot. A groan left his lips at that and he muttered some curse words. He was royally screwed in the worst way and he knew it.

He didn’t do mild crushes, he’d learned that pretty fast after his not so subtle and die-hard crush on Poe Dameron, his old school buddy. The whole encounter hadn’t ended very well for him. As much as Poe tried to play it cool, Kylo, back then still Ben, was going through a turmoil of emotions and in the end, even a friendship between them couldn’t last. Of course there had been more going on during that time; the trouble with his parents and all the awkwardness with the other kids. All of it had played a part and the crush on Poe had been a bitter addition to the stack.

Head-over-heels naïve Ben had tried to listen to Poe and do what he wanted. He tried to be kinder to his parents and to be more social with the other kids, but it all didn’t work and nothing seemed to change. Poe couldn’t understand, he just thought Ben hadn’t tried hard enough, or just couldn’t see the results. He figured after a while Poe would never understand him. It had been a heartbreaking realization and he had quickly taken distance from him. Poe ended up confronting him after two weeks of trying to stay out of his way and it all blew up big time. Poe had fallen out against him, telling him he was overdramatic and selfish, that he should be better to his friends and his family and that he shouldn’t defy everyone all the time and cause so much trouble. Worst of all was how the words stung in his heart, clenched his chest and itched his fingers.

The next thing he remembered from the encounter was him standing over Poe, who had a bruised face and a bleeding nose, positioned in an odd angle. Two teachers were using force to drag him off the other and a scared crowd had formed around them. It had been the start of a lot of changes that had led up to him now being here, working for Snoke under the name Kylo Ren.

 

With that experience, crushing for Hux seemed like a terrible thing. The man would absolutely turn him down and probably even laugh in his face, telling him he was pathetic and not worth his time. He was going to have to get over Hux and preferably as fast as possible. It shouldn’t be too difficult, as they had managed to clash before. Phasma might not like the idea much, but she was going to have to live with it. With that idea in mind he walked back inside. There Hux was, still sipping his coffee and before Kylo knew it, he was biting his lip at the almost calming sight the ginger gave. This was going to be a lot harder than anticipated.

The next times Hux came by, Kylo made quick excuses to go to the back to not have to deal with the other. It was more difficult when Phasma and Hux came together, Phasma would definitely notice when Kylo was behaving weird and it wasn’t like he didn’t want to talk to her, just not to Hux. Or just not interact too much with him, or just see him at all.

Thus Kylo had awkwardly stayed behind the counter while the two walked in, both in their work clothing and Kylo nervously eyed Hux, before deciding it was better to try to ignore him as much as possible, for his own sanity. At best it would piss Hux off and he would hate him, helping him get over him, even if it would sting at first. He put his focus on Phasma and gave a semi fake smile, greeting her in his always equal casual manner.

“Hi Phas, what will it be this time?” A broad smile came on her face as she focused on Kylo instead of her talk with Hux.

“Kylo, long time no see, I hope you didn’t miss me too much. Finally got some normal working hours back, so I’ve time again for proper coffee. The usual, with a double chocolate cookie, I really need that.”

“I survived. I take it you had to live on lukewarm machine coffee for the time? You must have been suffering for sure.” Kylo spoke while starting to work on the order. He managed to somewhat relax, even though he was overly aware of Hux being there as well, watching him.

“Oh yes, that was the most difficult of all. It’s like you’re drinking mud-water. But with enough sugar and milk it becomes sort of bearable. I don’t know how people live on that stuff.” Phasma spoke overdramatic, and from the corner of his eye, Kylo noticed Hux rolling his eyes at her act. Kylo felt a funny bubbling feeling in his chest, but tried extra hard to ignore it, as he turned around to grab a cookie for Phasma, willing the feeling to go away before he had to face Hux again.

When he turned back, Phasma had already laid out the right amount of money and eagerly took her order from Kylo. Kylo took his time to carefully count the money and put it away, before daring to focus his attention to Hux, who looked at him with a slight frown on his face.

“What will it be?” Kylo blurted out in a rather unkind tone, trying to hold his gaze with Hux, while his feelings and thoughts were going everywhere. How the suit fit him perfectly as always and the green tie fit his eyes perfectly, making them stand out more than his hair did. Not to mention only a small scar was left from the incident he’d had, but on his pale skin it was practically invisible. He surely had been sleeping more, the darkness around his eyes practically gone. And was he seeing a very light case of freckles on hi-

“A double espresso, please.” Hux his voice cut through his thoughts and Kylo felt like a deer caught in headlight, standing dead still for a moment before giving a nod and getting to work. Even more self-conscious than before he prepared the drink and handed it to Hux, this time deciding not to look at his face and just holding his eyes on the counter and the money on it.

“There you go.” Kylo quickly took the money of the counter and spent his time putting it away till Hux had taken a seat opposite of Phasma. He wondered for a bit if it would be too suspicious to go out for a smoke now, but decided against it. Instead he opted for rigorously cleaning the counter and tables, even though most were already clean. Hux and Phasma were once again in a discussion about work, something Kylo only half listened to while trying very hard not to focus on how Hux his voice sounded. The time went painfully slow and it seemed like hours until they decided to leave again. Maybe a bit too happy he wished them a good day, as both put on their coats. Phasma and Hux seemed ready to leave when Phasma suddenly turned back to the counter.

“I need a stack of those double chocolate cookies, Hux you can go ahead, I’ll be done soon.” A bit too broad smile was on Phasma’s lips as she walked over, Hux just following her advice, already leaving the building.

Kylo made his way behind the counter and got the plate of cookies out, eyeing Phasma with somewhat suspicious. His suspicion was proven right the moment she started talking.

“Soooo… Kylo, I don’t really know what your deal is with Hux, but there is something.” She started as she leaned onto the counter. Kylo tried to ignore her talking, as he obviously wasn’t ready to talk about it.

“How many?” he asked instead as he took a paper bag to put them in.

“Five.” She answered, to afterwards continue her earlier talk. “Either way, this doesn’t seem like the right solution to me. Not to mention, you are hardly as smooth about it as you think you are. You don’t have to talk to me about it, but do me a favor and stop tiptoeing.”

Kylo gave a glare to Phasma, obviously not very much appreciating her ‘helpful advice’. Phasma just smiled in return, putting the cash down and sliding it over to him.

“Do me a favor and talk to Hux, I’ve to deal with both of you, remember?”

Kylo just sighed deeply as he took the cash and mumbled an “I’ll think about it.”

This seemed to be good enough as an answer and she took the bag with cookies to make her leave.

“See you later Kylo.”

Kylo just nodded and sighed even more deeply once Phasma had left the cafe. It hadn’t been his intention to put Phasma in the middle of things, but there wasn’t really much to do about it. Phasma’s solution to talk about it, seemed entirely terrible as there was no way he could manage himself to confess to Hux. Not when he knew he would get laughed at. It already hurt to think about it and he wouldn’t be able to handle that reality. And Hux may be an ass at times, but he didn’t deserve to get beaten up because Kylo lost control. There were only a limited amount of people actually able to stop him if he got physical and violent. After all he wasn’t the clunky teenager anymore, he was a broad built guy with a good amount of muscle. Hux in comparison was nothing more than a skinny punching bag. If that happened, he would totally lose his job here and be lucky if he found ANY job ever again. If he wasn’t going to prison for assault, or manslaughter.

A confrontation was the worst idea ever, so he was just going to ignore Hux for as long as he could keep up and will his feelings away. It hurt that Phasma didn’t understand, but it was the best solution. Besides it would be all good and forgotten once he was over his stupid crush. Just a few more weeks and he would be over it, for sure.

The next week went relatively the same, Hux still stopping by from time to time and Kylo was making sure he was in the back every time that happened. Nobody else asked about it and Kylo started to get the feeling he was getting control over his feelings again. That was until Friday came.

The moment Hux stepped in, Kylo could feel his burning gaze on him and a shiver went down his spine. He swallowed and decided to once again retreat to the back, to go for a smoke to start with.

“Kylo.” Hux called after him, but Kylo ignored it, rushing to the back, hands already searching for his pack of cigarettes.

“Kylo!” He heard loud footsteps behind him and silently Kylo prayed it was anyone except Hux. But the moment he was out in the back and turned around, it was obvious his prayers hadn’t been heard as Hux stopped in front of him. His arms were crossed and he was glaring at Kylo as he stepped closer to him. Kylo tried to step back, but was soon met with the wall.

“Kylo, why the hell are you ignoring me?” Hux demanded and Kylo felt a spike of fear at the question, as this was going to be the Poe Dameron fight all over again and he didn’t want it. He had to turn it somehow, make sure that Hux would leave before damage was done.

“What do you care?” He angrily bounced back and tried to glare. Hux seemed to be somewhat put off by this question and his eyes wandered off. A slight color was starting to come on the man’s face, probably because of the yelling he had done, the anger coloring him slightly red. With determination the glare returned to him and Kylo was doing his damn best not to get distracted by seeing those eyes from up close for the first time.

“I’m trying to not be an ass for once and this is what I get? You weren’t an entire jerk to me at first, so why now?” The question got Kylo struggling, he wanted, still wanted to tell Hux the truth, but he didn’t dare to. And it was so much easier to give in to the anger and frustration, it always flowed so much more easily than anything else, even though he shouldn’t.

“Not being an ass? You look stuck up and arrogant every time you come in and give snide remarks.”

“I try!”

“Why the fuck are you even trying?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Hux blurted out and he turned even redder as shock was visible in his eyes for a second, before his eyes darted off Kylo.

Kylo stared confused at the ginger, not getting what was obvious  at all. He kept staring at the other, Hux getting tenser and more restless with every passing second. The red was starting to match the color of his hair and he was even biting his lip. Then it suddenly hit him and he wanted to smack himself for his own stupidity.

“You like me.” He spoke softly. It came out more as a question than he meant and with hopeful, almost pleading eyes he looked at the other. It was almost too good to be true and he couldn’t shake the feeling that it had to be a joke and he was totally imagining it.

“Yes you ass, I love you.” Hux practically yelled, giving Kylo a halfhearted glare and tensely crossing his arms again, his eyes nervously trained on the taller man.

“Oh…” Was all Kylo first could manage, his mind trying very hard to comprehend it. Hux liked him. His crush liked him. This wasn’t going to be like back then. He swallowed as he felt his mouth go dry and a dopey smile slowly came on his face. Hux his attention was obviously caught on that smile and Kylo could see his jaw going slack.

Kylo didn’t think before stepping closer to the other and softly touching the man’s face, guiding his head upwards and into a soft kiss. Hux easily complied, sighing softly as their lips touched and eyes fluttered shut.

“I love you too.” Kylo managed softly against the others lips and Hux snorted.

“You’d better after all this.” Kylo pouted at the comment and was quickly drawn into a kiss again by Hux. A pair of hands snaked into his hair and were softly going through the black curls. One of his own hands went to rest on Hux’s hips as he pulled him closer.

A cough behind them disrupted the mood and the two of them quickly stepped away from each other with a matching blush on their faces. Syra Ren leaned non-impressed against the door opening, with one eyebrow raised and her arms crossed. An awkward silence hung in the air for a good few seconds before Syra started speaking.

“I’ll cover your shift if you introduce me to that tall blonde friend of yours later.”

“Deal.” Kylo quickly answered, “Wait here for a second.”

Hux watched bewildered as Kylo sprint inside, coming back with a coat and scarf and throwing a ring of keys at Syra, who easily caught it. He automatically started following Kylo as he walked off, rather easily keeping up with his eager steps.

“Did you just sell out Phasma?” Hux suddenly asked as they walked out of the back alley and into the street.

“Yes I did, so we’d better make it worth it.” Spoke Kylo with a broad grin on his face.

“Jerk.” Hux muttered, with no hard feelings behind it and for a short second his face had a matching grin.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was actually my first time attempting to write something romantic, but definitely enjoyed writing it ;u;
> 
> If you got tips or anything, feel free to comment!


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